{{Short description|British radio personality (1893–1983)}} {{for|the English footballer|Stuart Hibberd (footballer)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Stuart Hibberd<br /><small>MBE</small> | image = File:Radio Times - 1926-12-19 - p671 (A. S. Hibberd photo).jpg | caption = Photo of Hibberd from the Christmas 1926 edition of ''The Radio Times'' | birth_name = Andrew Stuart Hibberd | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1893|09|05}} | birth_place = Canford Magna, Dorset, England | death_date = {{Death date and age|1983|11|01|1893|09|05|df=yes}} | death_place = Budleigh Salterton, Devon, England | education = Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School,<ref name=OW/> Wimborne<br />Weymouth College, Dorset | alma_mater = St John's College, Cambridge | occupation = Radio announcer, newsreader | spouse = {{marriage|Alice Mary Chichester|1923|1977|end=death}} | credits = ''BBC News'' }}
'''Andrew Stuart Hibberd''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|size=100%}} (5 September 1893 – 1 November 1983) was a British radio personality for 40 years. He is perhaps best known for his announcements of the death of King George V in 1936, and of Adolf Hitler in 1945. Hibberd joined the BBC in November 1924 and became its chief radio announcer on BBC Radio until his retirement in 1951. He was the presenter of the BBC Home Service programme ''The Silver Lining'' aimed for disabled and homebound listeners. Hibberd was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
== Early life and education == Hibberd was born in the village of Canford Magna, Dorset, England, in South West England, on 5 September 1893.<ref name="ContemporaryAuthorsEntry">{{cite journal |year=1998 |title=Andrew Stuart Hibberd |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000045253/ |journal=Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors |publisher=Gale |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 April 2026 |via=Gale In Context: Biography}}</ref><ref name="WhosWho1984">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/whoswhoannualbio0000unse |title=Who's Who 1984 |publisher=A & C Black |year=1983 |isbn=0-7136-2385-3 |edition=136th |location=London, England |page=1055 |chapter=Hibberd, (Andrew) Stuart |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He was the youngest of nine children (a brother and seven half-brothers) of the farmer William Henry Hibberd and his second wife Mary Catherine Edney.<ref name="ODNBEntry">{{cite book |last=Miall |first=Leonard |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati00blak/ |title=The Dictionary of National Biography, 1981–1985 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-19-865210-0 |editor-last=Blake |editor-first=Lord |editor-link=Robert Blake, Baron Blake |location=Oxford, England |pages=191–192 |chapter=Hibberd, (Andrew) Stuart |access-date=26 April 2026 |editor-last2=Nicholls |editor-first2=C. S. |editor-link2=Christine Nicholls |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |authorlink=Leonard Miall}}</ref> Hibberd was educated at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Wimborne Minster,<ref name="OW">{{cite web|url=http://www.oldwinburnians.org.uk/files/Winter-2012.pdf|title=Old Winburnians Newsletter - Autumn 2012|date=Autumn 2012|accessdate=25 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055744/https://oldwinburnians.org.uk/files/Winter-2012.pdf|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead|page=12|last=Pearce|first=Len|publisher=The OldWinburnians}}</ref> followed by Weymouth College, an independent school for boys in the seaside town of Weymouth in Dorset. He then won a Choral Scholarship to St John's College at the University of Cambridge and became a Choral exhibitor under Cyril Rootham.<ref name="TimesObit">{{cite news |date=2 November 1983 |title=Mr Stuart Hibberd: Pioneer BBC radio announcer |work=The Times |page=16 |issue=61679}}</ref>
==Life and career== Hibberd volunteered at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, becoming an Army officer. He served with the Dorset Regiment at Gallipoli (in Turkey), and then in Mesopotamia and with the 2nd Battalion, 25th Punjabis in India, reaching the rank of captain.<ref name=OW/><ref name="DailyRecord1934">{{cite news |date=31 August 1934 |title=Stuart Hibberd |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-record-stuart-hibberd-daily-reco/196350115/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Daily Record |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Hibberd was fluent in Hindu.<ref name="CairnsPostMarch1950">{{cite news |date=8 March 1950 |title=Quarter century at the microphone |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/cairns-post-quarter-century-at-the-micro/196345568/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Cairns Post |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
He was accepted by D'Oyly Carte Opera Company following a voice trial at the Savoy Theatre, London in 1921 but did not take up the post of singer.<ref name="TimesObit" /><ref name="InsideTheBBC">{{cite book |last=Miall |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Miall |url=https://archive.org/details/insidebbcbritish0000mial/ |title=Inside the BBC: British Broadcasting Characters |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1994 |isbn=0-297-81328-5 |location=London, England |pages=13–18 |chapter=Stuart Hibberd |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He joined the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) at Savoy Hill on 13 November 1924.<ref name="ContemporaryAuthorsEntry" /><ref name="ODNBEntry" /><ref name="BritishRadioDictionary">{{cite book |last=Street |first=Sean |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000stre/ |title=Historical Dictionary of British Radio |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8108-5304-1 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=136 |chapter=Hibberd, Stuart (1893-1983) |url-access=registration |via=Internet Archive |authorlink=Sean Street}}</ref> He was the chief announcer on BBC Radio from 1928 until his retirement from the post in August 1951,<ref name="BritishRadioDictionary" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 August 1951 |title=Newscaster With B.B.C. Retires at 57 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-newscaster-with-bbc/196345133/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Boston Globe |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Reuters}}</ref> having read approximately 15,000 news bulletins, introduced music programmes and speakers even though he never officially received the title of chief announcer.<ref name="InsideTheBBC" /><ref name="GuardianObit">{{cite news |date=2 November 1983 |title=Stuart Hibberd |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-stuart-hibberd-the-guardi/196350910/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Guardian |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
Hibberd reported on events such as the 1926 United Kingdom general strike in which he often broadcast for up to an hour, the Death of Adolf Hitler,<ref name="BritishRadioDictionary" /> and Victory in Europe Day in 1945.<ref name="DTObit">{{cite news |last=Marshland Gander |first=L. |date=2 November 1983 |title=Stuart Hibberd, BBC's 'Golden Voice', dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-stuart-hibberd-bbc/196352027/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Daily Telegraph |page=19 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="TorontoStarObit">{{cite news |date=2 November 1983 |title=Wartime voice of BBC Stuart Hibberd dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-wartime-voice-of-bbc-st/196352781/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Toronto Star |page=B1 |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Reuters}}</ref> He remarked he disliked television and was "too old to learn new tricks" because of his advanced age.<ref name="TorontoStarObit" /> ''The Times'' wrote that Hibberd gargled before he read the news and was of the belief that radio announcers had to wear evening dress even though they were never seen. He loosened his collar and tie to stop any constriction to his throat.<ref name="TimesObit" /><ref name="ODNBEntry" /> Hibberd's news bulletins were provided by Reuters and dictated over the telephone to the BBC.<ref name="InsideTheBBC" /> He had a unique, immediately recognisable, voice. It could be described like someone whispering aloud. His voice was ideal for grave and solemn occasions and he is best remembered for his announcement of King George V's impending death on 20 January 1936 with the words: "The King's life is moving peacefully towards its close".<ref name="DTObit" />
He was a defence officer during the Second World War and was second-in-command of the BBC's Home Guard Company in Bristol.<ref name="CairnsPostMarch1950" /> Hibberd worked in presentation and was transferred before the anonymity of news readers was dropped.<ref name="DTJune1941">{{cite news |date=18 June 1941 |title=And this is Stuart Hibberd |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-and-this-is-stuart-h/196347842/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Daily Telegraph |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> His anonymity was lost when he first identified himself on air in June 1941.<ref name="DTJune1941" /> During the Second World War, it was noted in the press that he was making mistakes because he was becoming fatigued but he continued to receive support from the listening audience.<ref name="ODNBEntry" /><ref name="InsideTheBBC" /> From 1949, Hibberd presented the BBC Home Service programme ''The Silver Lining'',<ref name="GuardianObit" /> a Thursday afternoon programme recorded at a studio in Exeter aimed at disabled and housebound people. He continued to present ''The Silver Lining'' until it ended its run in 1964.<ref name="ODNBEntry" /><ref name="InsideTheBBC" /> He recorded numerous audiobooks for the blind.<ref name="ODNBEntry" />
Hibberd was the subject of ''This Is Your Life'' in May 1957.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 May 1957 |title=Stuart Hibberd |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/dorset-echo-stuart-hibberd-dorset-echo/196333291/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Dorset Echo |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In January 1962, he appeared on ''Desert Island Discs''. He chose Navarraise (from Le Cid, Act 2) by Jules Massenet as his favourite track, his chosen book was ''Another World than This'' by Victoria Sackville-West and his luxury item was a recorder.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Desert Island Discs: Stuart Hibberd |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009y67c |access-date=26 April 2026 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> In December 1972, he returned to BBC as a continuity announcer on BBC Radio 4 for the nostalgia programme ''These You Have Loved''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 December 1972 |title=Old favourites return to BBC |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-old-favourites-retur/196334091/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Daily Telegraph |page=19 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1 December 1972 |title=Radio brings nostalgic taste to Christmas |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hull-daily-mail-radio-brings-nostalgic-t/196334054/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Hull Daily Mail |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Three years later, Hibberd was hired by Burmah Oil shareholders to join its protest against the Bank of England's purchase of its stake in British Petroleum.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 1975 |title=Stuart Hibberd on disc joins Burmah protest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-stuart-hibberd-on-di/196334481/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=The Daily Telegraph |page=17 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=7 October 1975 |title=Hibberd helps |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/birmingham-evening-mail-hibberd-helps/196334447/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Birmingham Evening Mail |page=28 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Hibberd was appointed an Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his broadcasting in 1935,<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=15136 |date=4 January 1935 |page=18 |city=Edinburgh}}</ref> and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts,<ref name="TimesObit" /> and a Fellow of the Royal Society of St George,<ref name="WhosWho1984" /> receiving its silver medal for his paper "The Coming of Age of Broadcasting" in July 1944.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sonin |first=Ray |date=15 July 1944 |title=No need to be a lowbrow .. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-herald-stuart-hibberd-daily-hera/196347430/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Daily Herald |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
== Personal life == He played the mouth organ.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 January 1936 |title=Your Announcers—1. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mirror-your-announcers1-daily/196348650/ |access-date=26 April 2026 |work=Daily Mirror |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Hibberd was married to Alice Mary Chichester, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Gerrard Chichester, from July 1923 until her death in 1977.<ref name="DTObit" /><ref name="BurkesPeerage2003">{{cite book |title=Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage |publisher=Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd |editor-last=Mosley |editor-first=Charles |edition=107th |volume=1 |location=Wilmington, Delaware |page=775|isbn=978-0-9711966-2-9}}</ref> There were no children of the marriage.<ref name="TimesObit" /> He died in Budleigh Salterton, Devon on 1 November 1983, at the age of 90,<ref name="InsideTheBBC" /> and his funeral was held three days later, at St Peter's Church in Budleigh Salterton in Devon.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/1bcd0054-fc15-4226-acc0-36b6a4ae8a39|title=Order of service for the funeral of Mr Andrew Stuart Hibberd, M.B.E.|accessdate=25 November 2014|publisher=The National Archives}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
* ''"This - Is London . . . "'', memoir by Hibberd (MacDonald and Evans, London, 1950).<ref name="ODNBEntry" />
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibberd, Stuart}} Category:1893 births Category:1983 deaths Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Category:British radio personalities Category:Radio and television announcers Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Weymouth College (public school) Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:Dorset Regiment officers Category:Military personnel from Dorset Category:Burials in Devon